British American Investments Limited – Britam – (BRIT) ended today among the top losers at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Its closing price was KES 28.00, a drop of 2.61% compared to Thursday’s price of KES 28.75.
“Britam experienced high demand last month. This drive its price to a high in September. And it is likely that the recent price decline is due to market correction“, said Silha Rasugu a research analyst at Genghis Capital Limited. He added, “Investors most likely started selling to profit from the high prices, thus driving down the price. Centum (ICDC) has also experienced a similar case.”
The 3 month share performance of Britam is given below.
The winners
Umeme Limited (UMME), Olympia Capital Holdings Limited (OCH), Kenya Orchards Limited (ORCH), Home Afrika Limited (HAFR) and Kenya Electricity Generating Company – Kengen – (KEGN) are the companies whose share price appreciated the most. Four of these companies had been among the top gainers earlier in the morning.
The losers
Marshalls E.A Limited (MASH), Carbacid Investments Limited (CARB), BOC Kenya Limited (BOC), Unga Group Limited (UNGA) and Britam Insurance shed the most value today. The first four ended the day at KES 10.40, 25.00, 150.00 and 45.00 respectively. Marshalls was in the news today over a tax case between it and the Kenya Revenue Authority.
Market snapshot
As at the close of the market (3.10 pm) today
Most shares traded
Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (KCB), Safaricom Limited (SCOM), Equity Bank Limited (EQTY), East African Breweries Limited (EABL) and CIC Insurance Limited (CIC) were the five most traded shares. 4.19 million KCB shares changed hands today.
Indices
Both the NSE 20 share index and the NSE All Share Index (NASI) registered a drop today. They shed 0.19% and 0.72% respectively to close at 5,279.88 and 160.42. The decline on the NSE 20 share index can be attributed to the profit taking illustrated above on securities such as Britam and Centum.